Namibia, Botswana & Victoria Falls
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Namibia, Botswana & Victoria Falls Private 4th to 22nd July 2017 (19 days) Trip Report Cheetah by Wayne Jones Trip report compiled by Tour Leader, Wayne Jones Trip Report – Nambia, Botswana & Victoria Falls - Private 2017 2 Tour Summary Our Namibia/Botswana/Zambia tour is one of our most popular trips; and, with excellent lodgings, good infrastructure and fabulous bird and wildlife viewing, it is well-suited to a family visit. We recorded 360 bird and 44 mammal species during our 19-day journey from the highlands of Windhoek to the lush banks of the Zambezi, with desert, savanna and wetlands in between. ________________________________________________________________________________ We officially kicked off our birding with a late afternoon visit to Avis Dam, on the outskirts of the Namibian capital. The area was so thick with different species that we didn’t even complete a quarter of the route before the sun dipped behind the Auas Mountains. It started with a tree full of waxbills – Blue, Violet-eared, Black-faced and Common. Our list soon included Green-winged Pytilia, Red-headed Finch, Scaly-feathered Weaver, Chestnut-vented Warbler, Scarlet- chested and Marico Sunbirds, Black-chested Prinia, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Acacia Pied Barbet, Pririt Batis, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Bearded and Cardinal Woodpecker, Lark-like Bunting, White-backed Mousebird and a Pearl-spotted Owlet. On a repeat visit the next morning, we had just climbed out of the car when a pair of Orange River Francolins starting calling, eventually allowing us excellent looks. Our other major quarry was Quailfinch. After spotting several flying specks, we finally found a female on the ground where she sat Acacia Pied Barbet by Wayne Jones for a couple of minutes. After breakfast, we crossed to the other side of the city to Daan Viljoen Nature Reserve, where we saw Shaft-tailed Whydah, handsome Short-toed Rock Thrush, Ashy Tit, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting and the near-endemic Monteiro’s Hornbill, as well as our first Giraffes. From Daan Viljoen, we began the long and dusty drive to Namibgrens. Along the way, we saw stunning Pale Chanting Goshawk, Martial Eagle, White-backed Vulture, Southern Red-billed Hornbill, a young Lanner Falcon, Rufous-eared Warbler and Desert Cisticola. We were on constant lookout for Pygmy Falcon, and after numerous false alerts (mostly Southern Fiscals), we came upon a trio of these great little raptors. We arrived at Namibgrens in the late afternoon, giving us a little time to luxuriate in the rooms and their stunning location before heading down to supper. The next day, we went on a pre-breakfast jaunt to Spreetshoogte Pass to try for Herero Chat. The weather was clear but incredibly windy (and cold!) and we eventually had to give up on the chat. As a consolation, we had our only sighting for the whole tour of Ludwig’s Bustard, which sailed in over the mountains and landed on a far slope. It was distant, but with the scope, we were able to pick out all the necessary details. The rocky terrain also held (Hartmann’s) Mountain Monteiro’s Hornbill by Wayne Jones Zebra and Klipspringer. Back at the lodge, we Trip Report – Nambia, Botswana & Victoria Falls - Private 2017 3 located Karoo Scrub Robin and Great Sparrow before heading back down Spreetshoogte Pass to Solitaire, Namibia’s smallest town. Leaving the mountains of the great plateau behind, we headed further into the Namib Desert. Birdlife was, as one would expect, rather sparse, but we did come across Common Ostrich, Namaqua Sandgrouse, Greater Kestrel, Ruppell’s Korhaan and Booted Eagle. And a photo stop at the Tropic of Capricorn proved fortuitous when we found Stark’s Lark and Grey-backed Sparrow-Lark wandering about a few metres from the sign. We entered the Namib-Naukluft National Park and passed through a fascinating variety of desert terrain on our way to Walvis Bay and the Atlantic coast that afternoon. The sun was still nowhere to be seen when we set out the next morning, heading back into the desert to Rooibank, a little settlement on the edge of fiery-coloured dunes south of Walvis Bay. We were looking for Namibia’s only full Namaqua Sandgrouse by Wayne Jones endemic, the rather lovely Dune Lark. Once we reached the best patch of habitat, we fanned out and it didn’t take us long to locate a bird. We eventually had excellent views of four birds, although their constant activity made them tricky to photograph. Heading back to the vehicle, we found Tractrac and Familiar Chats, Cape Sparrow, a flock of African Grey Hornbills, Red-eyed Mousebird, a pair of hyperactive Dusky Sunbirds and a Black-headed Oriole – in the middle of the desert and over 500km out of range! On our way back to breakfast at the lodge, we ticked off a trio of delightful Orange River White-eyes in parkland in the town centre. Apart from an afternoon trip to Mile 4 near Swakopmund, where we discovered a small group of Gray’s Larks, the rest of the day was spent visiting the Walvis Bay Lagoon and Salt Works. Walvis Bay’s identity revolves almost entirely around the thousands of flamingoes that visit its vast lagoon, a colourful spectacle for birders and non-birders alike. Both Lesser and Greater Flamingoes were seen quite close, providing good photo ops. Less glamorous inhabitants of the area included Great White Pelican, White-breasted and Cape Cormorants, a far-off African Oystercatcher, Black-winged Stilt, Grey and White-fronted Plovers, Ruddy Turnstone, Curlew Sandpiper, Bar-tailed Godwit and Hartlaub’s and Kelp Gulls. The more concentrated saline waters of the salt works held Cape Teal, hundreds of Black-necked Grebes, large flocks of Pied Avocets and Chestnut-banded Plover. There were also lots of terns present – White- winged, Common, Greater Crested, Sandwich and Caspian – but, unfortunately, not a single Damara, despite copious amounts of searching. Leaving Walvis Bay the following day, we once again made a little detour into the desert, this time to search for a living fossil. Out on the gravel plains, we found a few Welwitschia specimens – strange, two-leafed coniferous plants that have remained little-changed since Jurassic times. We saw the colourful beetles Chestnut-banded Plovers by Wayne Jones Trip Report – Nambia, Botswana & Victoria Falls - Private 2017 4 closely associated with them and even found a pair of Namib Day Geckos. A stop at the Moonscape viewpoint followed, and the nearby oasis of Goanikontes provided a chance to get proper looks at Dusky Sunbird as well as the two resident alpacas! At Spitzkoppe, a slow lunch ate up our time, so we switched from general birding to focusing entirely on finding Herero Chat. Our tactic paid off, as we located a pair of responsive birds which gave us amazing views, plus they had a support act of a couple of dapper White-tailed Shrikes. The drive back to the highway yielded good views of a Ruppell’s Korhaan in the road, Cape Penduline Tit and Spike-heeled and Sabota Larks. Continuing towards the Erongo Mountains and, with daylight marching on, we made another abbreviated stop, this time at the dry Khan River bed. Within moments of starting our short walk, we heard Violet Wood Herero Chat by Wayne Jones Hoopoe cackling. We raced to the spot and found 8 birds. We’d hardly had a chance to look at them when the squawk of a pair of Ruppell’s Parrots rang out behind us. Both targets done and dusted in under ten minutes! We arrived at the wonderful Erongo Wilderness Lodge not long after and, that evening, saw Western Barn Owl and Freckled Nightjar right outside the dining area. We donned our gloves and beanies for a pre-breakfast stroll the next day. As the sun started to colour the big granite boulders orange, the distinctive antiphonal duet of a pair of Hartlaub’s Spurfowl rang out. We soon located the vociferous duo atop a boulder and enjoyed extended scope views. After catching only glimpses of our first Rockrunner, we were thrilled when, by the end of the morning, we had found six, with great views of the last two! Red-billed Spurfowl, Pale-winged Starling, Rock Kestrel, Rosy-faced Lovebird, non-breeding Chestnut Weavers, Black-throated Canary, Pearl-spotted Owlet and Monteiro’s Hornbill were also around. After filling our tummies we headed west, first passing through mountainous acacia woodland, where we encountered Red- crested Korhaan, Double-banded Sandgrouse, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Southern Yellow- billed Hornbill and Common Scimitarbill. Once through the mountains, we continued on the long and bumpy dirt road towards Uis. We were hoping to find Benguela Long-billed Lark, but instead had good views of Karoo Long-billed Lark, which we had missed before. Fawn- colored Lark, Karoo Chat, Capped Wheatear and a small group of red ochre-covered Himba ladies were the only other attractions in what transpired to be a long day. We did another early morning walk, connecting Rosy-faced Lovebirds by Wayne Jones with our targets of Carp’s Tit and Barred Wren- Warbler, before setting course for Etosha National Park. It was mostly a travel day, with a lunch stop at a great little restaurant in Otjiwarongo. Species spotted alongside the road included Swainson’s Spurfowl, Purple and Lilac-breasted Rollers, Damara Red-billed Hornbill, Peregrine Trip Report – Nambia, Botswana & Victoria Falls - Private 2017 5 Falcon, Southern Fiscal, Groundscraper Thrush and numerous parties of Common Warthogs contentedly grazing on the grassy verges. We began our five-day Etosha adventure with two nights at Okaukuejo – the park’s headquarters, a night at the central Halali camp and then spent two nights at Mushara, a lodge outside the eastern gate of the park.